International
MGM for sixth postponement in debt payment case
MUMBAI: MGM studios has decided to request a sixth postponement of its $250 million principal payment and $200 million-plus in owed interest.
Lenders who hold nearly $4 billion in the debt are expected to agree to the extension though nothing is guaranteed yet.
The studio will formally request the latest extension a week before the 15 July deadline. That could give the studio at least several additional weeks to bring out financial details of its corporate restructuring.
Meanwhile, speculation continues about whether the studio will sell off its share of rights to co-production partner Warner Bros., whose New Line is overseeing project development. MGM executives would like to hold onto its share of the Hobbit rights as long as possible.
MGM is being run by an office of the CEO, with restructuring specialist Stephen Cooper, film chief Mary Parent and CFO Bedi Singh collaborating as co-CEOs.
MGM owners Providence Equity, TPG Capital, Sony, Comcast, DLJ Merchant and Quadrangle could lose their equity positions in any restructuring, which likely would involve a prepackaged bankruptcy filing.
Before its restructuring talks, MGM had held an auction that drew a handful of underwhelming offers to buy the studio outright.
International
Utopai Studios unveils 4K three-minute video generation for PAI platform
New Story Agent and editing tools aim to streamline AI-led filmmaking workflows
MUMBAI: Utopai Studios has announced a major upgrade to its PAI storytelling AI platform, introducing what it claims is an industry-first capability to generate three-minute videos in 4K resolution, alongside enhancements to its Story Agent feature.
The update, rolling out from April 15, expands the platform’s capabilities across the filmmaking process, from early concept development to post-production. The company said the new features are designed to help filmmakers maintain continuity across characters, scenes and visual styles, a key challenge in AI-driven storytelling.
At the heart of the release is a next-generation model that enables more structured narrative development, allowing creators to move more seamlessly from idea to execution. With tools such as multi-shot sequencing and multi-turn editing, the platform aims to give both studios and independent creators greater control over complex storytelling workflows.
Commenting on the launch, Utopai Studios co-founder and CTO Jie Yang said, “The next phase of AI in media will not be defined by isolated tools, but by systems that can carry story, continuity and collaboration across the full creative process.” He added that the update is a step towards enabling more practical, end-to-end narrative development at a professional level.
Echoing this, Utopai Studios co-founder and chief scientific officer Zijian He said, “Generative video is opening the door to a new production model, where creative ambition is less constrained by traditional cost and complexity.” He noted that the platform combines multimodal models with iterative editing to give creators more speed, control and consistency.
The company said PAI is already being used in professional film and television productions, particularly in Hollywood, for tasks such as pre-visualisation, scene design and post-production refinements. The latest update adds features including improved voice options, character consistency, unlimited editing and more flexible asset management.
Utopai also emphasised that its models are not trained on copyrighted material, positioning the platform as a cleaner alternative for creators and rights holders navigating the evolving AI landscape.
As AI continues to reshape content creation, Utopai’s latest push signals a shift from standalone tools to integrated systems, aiming to make high-quality filmmaking faster, more flexible and increasingly accessible.
